What Haley Said
by uhohskettios
Summary: What will happen when something threatens to ruin the James sisters' lives? Will Brooke and Haley be able to handle the decisions that come their way?
1. And It Came To Me Then

**So, this story is mostly about Brooke and Haley, with their older sister, Taylor, and how they deal with some certain events that will/have taken place in their lives. I'm not really sure about any couples at the moment. The title is from the song 'What Sarah Said" by Death Cab for Cutie. Enjoy.**

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"Hey!" Haley swatted at her sister's hand as it began to steal a piece of bacon from her plate. Brooke it seemed, was always trying to take something off of Haley's plate. It was a kind of game they'd played since they were little. "That's my bacon!" Brooke stuck out her tongue defiantly.

"So?" She questioned. Brooke knew that there was no way Haley was going to give her the bacon. Bacon was sacred to Haley, much like boys were to Brooke. "Does that mean you're not willing to give a piece to your little sister? Don't you want me to be happy?" Brooke pouted, turning her puppy dog eyes toward Haley.

"Um, sure I want you to be happy. But if bacon is what makes you happy, then I think you have a problem." Haley giggled and shrugged off the arm the Brooke had placed around her shoulders. Brooke gasped in mock pain.

"I love bacon! We were going to get married some day. I swear! Thank you for dashing our dreams to the ground!" She wiped invisible tears off of her face. Then after a few moments got over her lost love with the bacon and went on to the pancakes, smothering them with syrup. Yum. She licked her lips and dove in. They were sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast together for a special occassion. Haley celebrated her thirteenth birthday today. She was now officially a teenager, and Lydia was hoping that she would be a lot easier to handle than Taylor had been at that age.

"You two are crazy." Their older sister, Taylor, stated from where she was sitting across the table, playing with the remaining food on her plate. Their mom, who was sitting next to her, nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you are." Lydia spoke to her middle child. "I thought you were supposed to get more mature as you got older, Haley." She teased. Haley was by far the most mature one of her kids, and she knew that Haley knew that. Haley laughed at her mom.

"No way. How am I supposed to get more mature anyway, hanging around these two all the time?" She motioned towards Brooke and Taylor, as if they were the root of the problem. Though they usually were.

"Haley!" Taylor raged in mock anger due to the insult, flinging a bit of her toast towards her younger sister in revenge, smiling when it got stuck in her hair.

"I was kidding, Geesh!" Haley defended pulling the piece of toast from her hair and flinging it back at Taylor, who stuck her tongue out at her. Haley glared at her as if daring her to even think about throwing it back at her.

"Ah, what well behaved kids I have" Lydia said, getting up and piling up the dirty dishes and placing them in the sink.

"You know you love us, Mom." Brooke got up as well, not bothering to help with the clean up. "Well, I have to go get ready for school. It's a tough job, being this gorgeous. Don't want to disappoint the boys." Brooke smiled impishly and then left to beautify herself. Haley rolled her eyes at her younger sister. It was hard to believe Brooke was two years younger than her. She was way ahead of Haley in the study of boys and make-up. Haley didn't particularly care about that stuff though, so she wasn't worried.

"Well, I better get going too. Thanks for making breakfast, Mom." Haley thanked her mother kissing her on the cheek.

"Don't I always fix you breakfast on your birthdays?" Lydia smiled at her. "I can't believe you're already thirteen." She hugged Haley tightly, kissing the top of her head. Haley smiled up at her and returned the hug then headed up to her room to get ready for the day.

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Haley sat down at her usual lunch table in the back of the cafeteria and pulled out her lunch sack. She smiled when she opened it and saw a brightly colored card from her Mom and her sisters. She didn't know what she would do without them in her life. Her Dad, Jimmy, had died when she was only 4 from cancer, and she couldn't remember much about him. Though she did know she missed him, and his piggyback rides - that she couldn't forget. Since then it had just been the four of them.

_'Happy Birthday, Haley-bub. Hope you have a great day! Love you!_'

She carefully placed it down on top of her book and placed her sandwhich and water bottle on the table. She was about to dig in when someone plunked down across from her.

"Hey, Hales." She looked up to see her best friend, Lucas, pulling out is lunch.

"Heya, Luke." She grinned at him and popped a piece of crust into her mouth.

"Now wasn't today something special?" Luke rubbed his chin as if he couldn't recall. "I'm pretty sure there was something important today." He sighed and a teasing smile came across his face. "Guess it must not be to important if I can't remember it." he concluded with a mischievous grin. Haley reached across the table and punched him in the arm.

"Watch it, loser." She laughed when he gave her a hurt look.

"Anway," He pulled something out of his bag and hid his hand behind his back. "I made you something."

"Oh! What is it?" Haley twisted around so she could try to see under the table. Luke wasn't usually one for gifts and sentimental stuff - he was a boy after all. It surprised her that he had gone to any effort at all.

"Something that I put a lot of time into . . . so don't you dare laugh!" He warned her. Luke was acutally very proud of what he had made for her. He had only had to start over about five times, and with minimal help from his mom.

"I promise." Haley made the motion of an X against her heart. "Now show me!" She couldn't wait to see what it was that he had prepared.

"Yes Ma'am!" He gave her a salute and then placed the object on the table in front of Haley. She knew she had promised not to laugh, but it was awfully hard to hold it in. Lucas had made her what she assumed was supposed to be a cupcake, but it looked a bit more like a pile of goo with sprinkles on top. The pink icing was sliding down the bread and made it look rather unappetizing.

"Gee, Luke. Thanks?" Haley eyed it wearily. "Do I have to eat that?" Lucas gave her a look.

"Of course you do. I'm going to sit here and watch you eat every little bit of it." He scooted it closer to her, waiting to see if she would think he was being serious. "Get started."

"You've got to be kidding me! There is no way I'm eating it, Luke. I love you and everything but . . .No." Haley refused. Luke pretended to look hurt, but a smile broke across his face after several seconds.

"I knew you wouldn't." He laughed, "So I got you this, too." He handed her a badly wrapped box. The wrapping paper was a plain blue, the corners of the box underneath showing. Haley took it and shook it around before ripping what paper there was off.

"Wow. Thanks Luke." Haley smiled at him. He'd gotten her a book called _The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook. How to: Escape from Quicksand, Wrestle an Alligator, Break Down a Door, Land a Plane, and More! "_I'll have to read this ASAP. You know, since there are so many alligators and airplanes to land around here." Haley giggled at the thought of wrestling an alligator _while_ landing a plane.

"Hey, you never know. That book could save your life one day." He winked at her.

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Haley was jarred from her sleep later that afternoon as the phone rang. She must have fallen alseep while doing her homework, her books were scattered all over the place. Luckily she'd put her pencil on the table before her unplanned nap, saving her from any pointed accidents.

"Haley?" Brooke walked into the living room still in their Middle School colored cheerleading uniform. "There's some lady on the phone who wants to talk to Tay. Do you know where she is?" I nodded, knowing that she was probably on the back porch relaxing after her long day at college.

"Yeah, do you want me to take it to her?" Brooke nodded her head greatfully.

"That'd be awesome." She brought the phone to Haley and gave her a quick hug before skipping into the kitchen for a snack. Haley stood up and headed to the door that led from the living room to the back porch. She smiled at the sight of Taylor sitting on the swing, bobbing her head to the music that was blasting through her earphones. A book lay forgotten on the seat next to her. Haley quietly snuck up beside her sister and pulled the ear phones off. Taylor's head shot up in surprise and her mouth turned into a sheepish smile at being caught by her sister.

"Hey there, Haley-bub. What do you need?" Haley laughed and held the phone out to Taylor.

"It's for you." Haley sat down on the swing next to her sister and started flipping through the book.

"Hello?" Taylor spoke into the phone. "Yes, this is Taylor." she began, only to pause a second later. "Are you sure?"

Haley glanced over at her sister. She was starting to look a little pale. "No, no. I'll be there as soon as I can." Taylor denied, the color continuing to drain from her face, and Haley could see her eyes starting to fill with tears. "Thank you for calling." Taylor finished, her voice nothing but a whisper, Haley even had to strain to hear.

"What's wrong?" Haley's stomach filled with a sense of dread. "Is everything alright?" she wondered shakily. Taylor slowly brought her head around and looked straight into Haley's eyes. The light filtered through the screens of the porch walls, giving Taylor an eerie look. Her eyes were full of pain and Taylor felt like the life had been knocked out of her. What was she going to tell her baby sisters?

"No." She shook her head, the liquid threatened to pour from her eyes.

"What?" Haley was afraid to breath. Scared of what could possibly be so bad that it had almost reduced her older sister, who never cried - as she was forever keeping her emotions to herself, - to tears. The phone lay lifelessly in Taylor's hand, the dail tone sounding monotonously.

"It's Mom." Then the tears fell.


	2. Every Plan is a Tiny Prayer

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Be the way, you will notice that the time frame has jumped foreward quite a bit. Flashabcks will be in italics.  
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Haley was awakened by a heavy weight sitting down next to where she slept. She pulled the covers closer to her, burying further into their comforting warmth, knowing what was about to come.

"Wake up! Come on, wake up, Haley!" She felt her younger sister pulling at her covers._ Oh no you don't!_ Haley's death grip on her sheets only tightened and she gave an annoyed 'Hmph!' "You promised me, remember, Hales? You promised you'd take me to school early for the extra cheerleading practice!" Brooke yanked hard at Haley's sheets once again, smiling when she got a few inches released. "If you don't get your butt out of bed now I'm going to hit you so hard, you won't know what happened." Brooke threatened. Haley rolled over onto her back, opening one eye slowly so as to let it adjust to the morning sunshine.

"Can't Taylor take you?" Haley whined. She hated waking up. Sleep was precious, it was love. It wasn't time for it to leave yet!

"No, she can't. Tay had to go to work early, remember? Which is why I asked you to take me to school!" Brooke gave one last final pull on the covers, determined to get them free from Haley's grasp.

"Aaagh!" Haley let out a scream as the cold air hit her body. "I'm going to kill you Brooke!" Haley leapt out of bed and dove towards her sister. Brooke let out a shriek, ran out into the hallway and took cover in her room, a closed door now separating her from her sleep crazed sibling.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Brooke pleaded. "Don't hurt me, I'll never wake you up again! I swear it!" There was a moment of silence before Haley replied.

"Pinky promise?" Brooke gulped and eyed the door as if it was going to turn against her at any moment.

"Erm, yeah sure. I pinky promise." _Please don't ask to shake on it, please!_ No such luck.

"Let's shake on it. Open the door." Brooke was having second thoughts. She could live in her bedroom, it wouldn't be that hard. Just no food or water . . .or boys! Oh no!

"Do you promise not to hurt me?" Haley let out a manic laugh that left Brooke feeling queasy. She sighed, knowing she had no choice but to open the door and relent to whatever torture her sister was going to submit her to.

"Okay, but if you-" Brooke had just barely opened the door when Haley came flying at her, pinning her to the ground. Fingers came out and tickled Brooke every which way. Silent gasps for air came from Brooke's lungs as Haley mercilessly tickled her sides and stomach.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Brooke cried out, when she finally caught some breath. Haley eased up on the tickling slightly, weary of whether or not it was just a ploy for Brooke to grab the upper hand.

"Fine." Haley stood up and acted as if she were going to step onto Brooke's abdomen on her way out of the room, laughing at the panicked look that came across Brooke's face. She neatly stepped around her and headed back to her room to get ready for the day. "I'll be ready to go in five minutes, kay?" She gave Brooke a salute and scurried off.

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"How's she today?" Haley looked at Taylor inquisitively. She had dropped Brooke off at her cheerleading practice a few minutes prior and was visiting Taylor now at her work until classes started in thirty minutes. The look that crossed Taylor's face let Haley know the answer before she spoke it.

"The same as normal." Taylor replied with dismay in her voice. She had gone to college and studied to be a nurse after what had happened to her Mom. This way she was able to keep an eye on her and stay up to date on any progress that happened."Can you believe it's been almost four years since the accident?" They both gazed at their mother from where they stood, a few feet away from the bed. Lydia's hair laid limply on the pillow, her skin was the color of ones who never sees the sunlight. No, it was hard to believe it had been four years. It seemed like just yesterday they had found out the dreaded news.

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_"Go get Brooke." Taylor ordered Haley. "I'm taking you two to Karen's." Haley nodded mutely, getting up quickly to go find Brooke. She found her in the kitchen, dunking some Oreos into a tall glass of milk._

_"Brookie?" Haley asked. She could her the strain in her own voice. Brooke looked up at her and immediately sensed something was seriously wrong. _

_"Yeah?" Brooke asked with concern. She got up from her chair and walked across the brown tile and over to Haley, placing a hand on her shoulder._

_"Taylor's taking us to Karen's. Mom is in the hospital." Haley informed Brooke, her eyes shifting away. She couldn't bare to see the pain in her sister's eyes. The knowledge that something was wrong with their Mom and they were not able to help was eating at both of them. "You should take your homework." Brooke nodded in a daze._

_"Sure." Brooke agreed. This was a lot to take in right now. Her _Mom_ was in the hospital. The Hospital. She saw Haley starting to leave and quickly asked, "What happened to her?"_

_"I'm not sure." Haley gave her an apologetic smile. "I wish I knew." Haley had forgotten to ask Taylor. All she was sure of right now was that her Mom was hurt, and that was enough._

_Ten minutes later they were dropped of at Karen's house. Taylor had called her quickly on the way over so that she would be expecting them. Karen was standing on the front lawn as Haley and Brooke climbed out of the car. She wrapped them both in a warm hug, before leading them inside. _

_"Have you two had dinner yet?" Karen asked them, heading towards the kitchen where the smell of baking bread floated from. Both of them shook their heads in a negative answer._

_"No, but I'm not really hungry right now." Brooke told Karen, playing subconsciously with the end of her backpack shoulder strap. _

_"Me too." Haley agreed quickly. She looked around for her best friend. "Is Luke here?" Karen nodded towards his room._

_"I think he's doing his homework." Haley smiled gratefully at her and headed to his room, Brooke following behind her. Lucas looked up at them when they entered, putting down the pencil that he had been writing with._

_"Hey." He motioned for them to sit down on his bed, pushing the books off and onto the floor. "I heard about your mom." Haley looked at him, tears starting to reform in her eyes._

_"I'm scared." She whispered. She crawled onto the bed and leaned against him, placing her head on his shoulder. Brooke sat down on the other side of her and wrapped her arms around her older sister, burying her head into her neck. Haley felt the wet moisture of tears sliding down her skin. Both hers and Brooke's._

_"So am I." Brooke admitted. "What if we never get to see her again? Alive I mean." Haley stared at her sister in shock._

_"Don't say that!" Haley admonished her. "We're going to see her again. We have to believe that. I need to, anyway." Brooke mumbled an apology and stared up at the ceiling. The painted design swirled in front of her eyes, changing constantly, never staying still. They sat there for an unknown amount of time, that to them seemed to stretch, each minute feeling more like a day. Karen eventually came in and made them come out and eat. Haley didn't take a single bite, even though she knew she should. She needed to stay strong so she could help her sisters. But the thought of eating anything made her feel sick to her stomach. Brooke nibbled a bit on her food, but didn't really seem to notice that she was doing so. They sat in silence, everyone afraid to say something. They all jumped when the phone rang, bringing them back from their thoughts. Karen stood up and grabbed the phone._

_"Hello?" She asked into the reciever. She listened to the person on the other end for a few minutes before saying, "No, that's no problem at all. I'll let them know." Brooke glanced over at Haley, both of them thinking the same thing. That it must be Taylor, calling with some news. Maybe they would get to go see their Mom! Karen hung up the phone and turned to them._

_"Was that Taylor?" Haley asked, pushing her plate toward the center of the table and laying her arms on top of the surface, chin resting on them._

_"Yes." Karen answered. "She's not going to be able to leave the hostpital tonight, so I told her it would be no problem if you two stayed here. We can go over to your house and pick up anything you need." She offered._

_"Did she say anything about our Mom?" Brooke's eyes had a light of hope in them. Karen was sad to be the one to disappoint her. _

_"No, I'm sorry." Karen gave them both a sympathetic smile. "Since it looks like you two are done eating, I'll take you over now to get your night things. Does that sounds okay?" Haley and Brooke nodded, standing up and pushing their chairs in. They walked together into Lucas' room._

_"Haley, what if something happens to her? What are we going to do?" Brooke let a few tears slide down her cheeks before wiping them away hastily. Haley reached over and pulled her into a tight hug._

_"Nothing's going to happen to her, Tigger." Haley assured her. "We're going to be fine." She wasn't sure she believed her own words though. They stayed in the hug for a few more seconds before sighing and pulling away. _

_Haley picked up her book bag and cursed as all of her books fell out, forgetting that she had left it unzipped. She piled her text books back into it and then something caught her eye. It was the book Luke had given to her earlier that day as a gift._

'Worst-Case Scenario:' _ Haley thought, glumly picking up the book and stashing it away. '_Your Mother might die...' _How do you get out of that?_

_You don't._

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